Self-centering clip and jaw

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for applying surgical clips to tissue includes a handle assembly having a trigger and a shaft extending therefrom. The shaft includes at least one surgical clip therein. Each clip includes a pair of legs connected by a crossbar. Each of the pair of legs has an inwardly and an outwardly facing surface, the outwardly facing surface having a raised profile protruding therefrom and extending longitudinally therealong. A jaw assembly is disposed at a distal end of the shaft and includes first and second opposed jaws moveable between a spaced apart and an approximated position. Each jaw defines a recess extending longitudinally along opposing inner surfaces thereof. Each recess defines a longitudinally extending groove having a profile substantially complementary to the raised profile of the legs of the clips. The legs of each clip are positionable at least partially within respective grooves of the recesses of the jaws.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority to, and benefit of, U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 61/409,131 entitled “Self-CenteringClip and Jaw” filed on Nov. 2, 2010, the entire contents of which arehereby incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to surgical instruments. Moreparticularly, the present disclosure relates to an endoscopic surgicalclip applier and corresponding surgical clips.

2. Description of Related Art

Endoscopic staplers and clip appliers are known in the art and are usedfor a number of distinct and useful surgical procedures. In the case ofa laparoscopic surgical procedure, access to the interior of an abdomenis achieved through narrow tubes or cannulas inserted through a smallentrance incision in the skin. Minimally invasive procedures performedelsewhere in the body are often generally referred to as endoscopicprocedures. Typically, a tube or cannula device is extended into thepatient's body through the entrance incision to provide an access port.The port allows the surgeon to insert a number of different surgicalinstruments therethrough using a trocar and for performing surgicalprocedures far removed from the incision.

During a majority of these procedures, the surgeon must often terminatethe flow of blood or another fluid through one or more vessels. Thesurgeon will often apply a surgical clip to a blood vessel or anotherduct to prevent the flow of body fluids therethrough during theprocedure. An endoscopic clip applier is known in the art for applying asingle clip or a series of clips during a surgical procedure. Such clipsare typically fabricated from a biocompatible material and are usuallycompressed over a vessel. Once applied to the vessel, the compressedclip terminates the flow of fluid therethrough.

Endoscopic clip appliers that are able to apply multiple clips inendoscopic or laparoscopic procedures during a single entry into thebody cavity are described in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,084,057and 5,100,420 to Green et al., which are both incorporated by referencein their entirety. Another multiple endoscopic clip applier is disclosedin commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,607,436 by Pratt et al., thecontents of which is also hereby incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety. These devices are typically, though not necessarily, usedduring a single surgical procedure. U.S. patent application Ser. No.08/515,341 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,695,502 to Pier et al., the disclosure ofwhich is hereby incorporated by reference herein, discloses aresterilizable surgical clip applier. The clip applier advances andforms multiple clips during a single insertion into the body cavity.This resterilizable clip applier is configured to receive and cooperatewith an interchangeable clip magazine so as to advance and form multipleclips during a single entry into a body cavity.

One significant design goal in the manufacture of clip appliers is toalign the surgical clips between the jaws and maintain the alignment ofthe legs of the clip throughout a formation of the clip onto the bodytissue or vessel. It is therefore desirable to provide a surgical clipand surgical clip applier that promote proper alignment of the legs ofthe clip within the jaws thereof and throughout the formation of theclip onto the body tissue or vessel.

SUMMARY

In accordance with the present disclosure, an apparatus for applicationof surgical clips to body tissue is provided. The apparatus includes ahandle assembly having a handle and a trigger moveable with respect tothe handle. An elongated shaft extends distally from the handle assemblyand includes one or more surgical clips disposed therein. Each surgicalclip includes a pair of legs connected to each other at one end by acrossbar. Each of the pair of legs has an inwardly facing surface and anoutwardly facing surface. The outwardly facing surface of each leg has araised profile protruding therefrom and extending longitudinallytherealong. A jaw assembly is disposed at a distal end of the elongatedshaft and includes first and second opposed jaws moveable between aspaced apart position and an approximated position. Each of the jawsdefines a recess extending longitudinally along opposing inner surfacesthereof. Each of the recesses defines a longitudinally extending groovehaving a profile substantially complementary to the raised profile ofthe legs of the one or more surgical clips. The legs of each of thesurgical clips are positionable at least partially within respectivegrooves of the recesses of the jaws.

In one embodiment, the outwardly facing surfaces of the legs of eachsurgical clip have a substantially triangular transverse cross-sectionalprofile. The groove defined in each recess of the jaws may also have asubstantially triangular transverse cross-sectional profile.

In yet another embodiment, each leg of each surgical clip has a chevrontransverse cross-sectional profile. The cross bar of each surgical clipmay also have a chevron shaped transverse cross-sectional profile.

In still another embodiment, each groove of each jaw is defined by afirst wall and a second wall angled toward each other and defining anangle therebetween. Similarly, the outwardly facing surface of each legof each surgical clip may be defined by a first wall and a second wallangled toward each other and defining an angle therebetween. Further,the angle defined by the first wall and the second wall of the outersurface of each leg of each surgical clip may be smaller than the angledefined by the first wall and the second wall of the groove of the jaws.

In still yet another embodiment, a shoulder is defined at an interfacebetween the recess and the groove of each jaw at opposed sides of thegroove.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure, a jawassembly for use in a surgical clip applier configured to apply surgicalclips to body tissue is provided. Each of the surgical clips includes apair of opposed legs, each having an outwardly projecting longitudinallyextending raised profile. The jaw assembly includes first and secondopposed jaws moveable between a spaced apart position and anapproximated position. Each of the jaws defines a recess extendinglongitudinally along opposing inner surfaces thereof. Each of therecesses defines a longitudinally extending groove and each of the jawsis configured for positioning of a leg of a surgical clip at leastpartially within the recess of the jaw and for receiving the raisedportion of each leg of the surgical clip in a groove of a respectivejaw.

In one embodiment, the jaw assembly includes a shoulder defined at aninterface between the recess and the groove of each jaw at opposed sidesof the groove. Further, the groove defined in the recess of each jaw mayhave a substantially triangular transverse cross-sectional profile or achevron transverse cross-sectional profile.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure, eachsurgical clip includes a pair of legs connected to each other at one endby a crossbar. Each leg includes an inwardly facing surface and anoutwardly facing surface. The outwardly facing surface of each legincludes a plurality of spaced-apart protrusions formed thereon, eachprotrusion defining a raised profile protruding from the outwardlyfacing surface of the leg thereof. This surgical clip may be used inconjunction with any of the jaw assemblies described above.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various embodiments of the subject instrument are described herein withreference to the drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a surgical clip applier;

FIG. 2 is a further perspective view of the surgical clip applier ofFIG. 1, illustrating a rotation of an elongate tubular member thereof;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, perspective view of the jaw structure of thesurgical clip applier of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a front, perspective view of a jaw assembly for use in thesurgical clip applier of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a distal end view of one of the jaws of the jaw assembly ofFIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a front, perspective view of the jaw of FIG. 5 shown having aportion of a surgical clip supported therein;

FIG. 7 is a front, perspective view of a surgical clip for use in thesurgical clip applier of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a transverse, cross-sectional view of one leg of the surgicalclip of FIG. 7;

FIG. 8A is a transverse, cross-sectional view of one leg of a surgicalclip according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8B is a front, perspective view of another embodiment of a surgicalclip according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a top, plan view of the surgical clip of FIG. 7; and

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the surgical clip of FIG. 7 formed on avessel.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of a surgical clip applier in accordance with the presentdisclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the drawingfigures wherein like reference numerals identify similar or identicalstructural elements. As shown in the drawings and described throughoutthe following description, as is traditional when referring to relativepositioning on a surgical instrument, the term “proximal” refers to theend of the apparatus which is closer to the user and the term “distal”refers to the end of the apparatus which is further away from the user.

Referring briefly to FIGS. 1-3, a surgical clip applier in accordancewith the present disclosure is generally designated as 100. Surgicalclip applier 100 generally includes a handle assembly 102 and anendoscopic portion including a shaft assembly 104 extending distallyfrom handle assembly 102 and having a jaw assembly 120 disposed at adistal end thereof. A stack of surgical clips is typically loaded and/orretained within shaft assembly 104 in a manner so as to slidetherewithin and/or therealong. A complete description of theinner-workings and operation of surgical clip applier 100 can be foundin commonly-assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/055,446 toWhitfield et. al., the entire contents of which are hereby incorporatedby reference herein.

With continued reference to FIGS. 1-3, jaw assembly 120 is mounted inthe distal end of shaft assembly 104 such that jaws 120 a, 120 b arelongitudinally stationary relative thereto. A knob 110 may be rotatablymounted on a distal end of handle assembly 102 and affixed to shaftassembly 104 to transmit and/or provide 360° rotation to shaft assembly104 and jaws 120 a, 120 b about a longitudinal axis “x” thereof. As willbe described in greater detail hereinbelow, jaws 120 a and 120 b of jawassembly 120 each define a recess 122 a, 122 b within an inwardly facingsurface thereof as well as a groove 124 a, 124 b defined within therespective recesses 122 a, 122 b. The recesses 122 a and 122 b and thegrooves 124 a and 124 b are configured for guiding passage of a surgicalclip (see FIGS. 6-10) therethrough.

Referring now to FIGS. 4-6, jaws 120 a, 120 b are shown each having arespective recess 122 a, 122 b extending longitudinally therealong. Morespecifically, recesses 122 a and 122 b are defined within inwardlyfacing surfaces 121 a and 121 b of jaws 120 a and 120 b, respectively.Recesses 122 a and 122 b each define a width “w” (FIG. 5) and may have agenerally rectangular transverse cross-sectional profile. As can beappreciated, width “w” is sufficiently large to allow passagetherethrough of a clip “C” (FIG. 6). In other words, the width “w” islarger than a diameter “d” of clip “C” (FIG. 8) such that clip “C” ispositionable at least partially within and slidable through recesses 122a and 122 b of jaws 120 a and 120 b, respectively. Recesses 122 a, 122 bmay be formed within jaws 120 a, 120 b, respectively, via machining, orany other suitable process.

With continued reference to FIGS. 4-6, grooves 124 a and 124 b aredefined within recesses 122 a and 122 b of jaws 120 a and 120 b,respectively. Similar to recesses 122 a and 122 b, grooves 124 a and 124b extend longitudinally along jaw members 120 a and 120 b, respectively.The width “w” of recess 122 a of jaw 120 a is larger than a maximumdiameter of groove 124 a such that a pair of shoulders 125 a is definedat the interfaces between recess 122 a groove 124 a. Similarly to jaw120 a, the width of recess 122 b of jaw 120 b is larger than a maximumdiameter of groove 124 b such that a pair of shoulders is defined at theinterfaces between recess 122 b groove 124 b.

Grooves 124 a and 124 b are defined by first walls 126 a, 127 a andsecond walls 126 b, 127 b, respectively. Each pair of walls 126 a, 127 aand 126 b, 127 b extend toward each other at an angle “α,” eventuallyconverging to a nadir 128 a and 128 b of grooves 124 a and 124 b,respectively. Thus, grooves 124 a and 124 b define a substantiallytriangular, or V-shaped transverse cross-sectional profile, as bestshown in FIGS. 4-6. It is also envisioned that first and second walls126 a, 126 b and 127 a, 127 b may be non-linear, e.g., curved or bowed,as shown in FIGS. 5-6, to thereby define a chevron transversecross-sectional profile. Additionally, grooves 124 a, 124 b and/orrecesses 122 a, 122 b may be centered with respect to a height of jaws120 a and 120 b, respectively, or with respect to width “w” of recesses122 a, 122 b. Further, grooves 124 a and 124 b may be centered withrespect to recesses 120 a and 120 b defined within jaws 120 a and 120 b,respectively.

Referring now to FIGS. 7-9, each clip “C” includes a pair of legs 220 a,220 b interconnected by a crown, backspan, or crossbar 220 c. Aninwardly facing surface 222 a, 222 b of each leg 220 a and 220 b,respectively, defines a generally flat geometry such that upon formingof clip “C” about a body tissue or vessel, inwardly facing surfaces 222a and 222 b of legs 220 a and 220 b consistently and evenly clamp aroundthe body tissue or vessel. Outwardly facing surfaces 224 a and 224 b oflegs 220 a and 220 b, respectively, may define a generally circulartransverse cross-sectional profile and may include raised profiles 226 aand 226 b protruding from respective outwardly facing surfaces 224 a and224 b and extending longitudinally therealong. Crossbar 220 c maysimilarly include a raised profile 226 c protruding therefrom andinterconnecting raised profile 226 a of leg 220 a with raised profile226 b of leg 220 b to form an uninterrupted raised profile substantiallyalong the entire outwardly facing surface of clip “C.”

More particularly, as seen in FIG. 8, raised profile 226 a is defined byfirst and second walls 227 a and 228 a, respectively, extendingoutwardly from outwardly facing surface 224 a of leg 220 a. First andsecond walls 227 a and 228 a, respectively, are angled toward each otherat an angle “β” to a peak 229 a to define a substantially triangular,V-shaped or chevron transverse cross-sectional profile. Similarly to leg220 a, raised profile 226 b of leg 220 b is defined by first and secondwalls extending outwardly from an outwardly facing surface of leg 220 b.The first and second walls are also angled toward each other at an angle“β,” to a peak.

It is envisioned that angle “β,” the angle defined by walls 227 a and228 a of raised profile 226 a, and similarly defined by the first andsecond walls of raised profile 226 b, is about equal to or less than theangle “α” defined between the first and second walls 126 a, 126 b and127 a, 127 b of grooves 124 a and 124 b of jaws 120 a and 120 b,respectively, such that raised profile 226 a is at least partiallypositionable within groove 124 a of jaw 120 a and such that raisedprofile 226 b is at least partially positionable within groove 124 b ofjaw 120 b.

Further, it is envisioned that first and second walls 227 a and 228 a ofleg 220 a and the first and second walls of leg 220 b be non-linear,e.g., curved or bowed. Additionally, the non-linear shape of the firstand second walls of legs 220 a, 220 b may be shaped similarly tonon-linear walls 126 a, 127 a and 126 b, 127 b of grooves 124 a and 124b of jaws 120 a and 120 b, respectively. Accordingly, where angle “α” isequal to angle “β,” raised profiles 226 a and 226 b are thus shapedcomplementary to grooves 124 a and 124 b, respectively. However, it isalso contemplated that where angles “α” and “β” are different, e.g.,where “α” is greater than “β,” raised profiles 226 a and 226 b areshaped substantially, or quasi-complementarily to grooves 124 a and 124b, respectively.

Turning now to FIG. 8A, an outer profile for an alternate clip “C1” isillustrated. As seen in FIG. 8A, an outwardly facing surface 224 a′ of aleg 220 a′ of clip “C1” includes substantially planar first and secondwalls 227 a′ and 228 a′ that are angled toward each other, by and angle“β”, to a peak 229 a′ to define a substantially triangular shaped,V-shaped or chevron shaped transverse cross-sectional profile 226 a′.

Referring to FIG. 8B, another embodiment of a clip “C2” configured foruse with surgical clip applier 100 (FIGS. 1-3) includes a pair of legs220 a″, 220 b″ interconnected by a crossbar 220 c″. Clip “C2” is similarto clip “C” (FIGS. 7, 8 and 9) and may include any of the featuresassociated with clip “C” described above. However, different from clip“C” (FIGS. 7, 9 and 9), clip “C2” includes a plurality of discrete,spaced-apart, raised protrusions 226 a″ protruding from outwardly facingsurface 224 a″ of leg 220 a″. Clip “C2” may also include protrusions(not explicitly shown) extending similarly from the outwardly facingsurface of leg 220 b″ and/or from the outwardly facing surface ofcrossbar 220 c″. The protrusions, e.g., protrusions 226 a″, may beformed via coining, or any other suitable manufacturing process.

With continued reference to FIG. 8B, each protrusion 226 a″ includes apair of opposed angled surfaces 227 a″, 228 a″ that are angled towardeach other, defining an angle “β” (see FIG. 8) therebetween, andultimately converging to define a peak 229 a″. In other words, angledsurfaces 227 a″, 228 a″ and peak 229 a″ cooperate to define asubstantially triangular, V-shaped or chevron transverse cross-sectionalprofile. Further, although two protrusions 226 a″ are shown, it isenvisioned that greater or fewer that two protrusions 226 a″ be providedand/or that protrusions 226 a″ be spaced further-apart orcloser-together relative to one another. Clip “C2” may otherwise beconfigured similarly to clip “C” (FIGS. 7, 8 and 9) or clip “C1” (FIG.8A), discussed above.

The operation of surgical clip applier 100, to crimp or form a surgicalclip “C” around a target body tissue, such as, for example, a vessel(FIG. 10), will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1-10.

Initially, clip applier 100 is positioned such that a tissue or a vessel“V” to be clamped is disposed between jaws 120 a and 120 b. As trigger108 is squeezed or actuated, trigger 108 causes clip “C” to translatedistally into recesses 122 a and 122 b of jaws 120 a and 120 b,respectively, such that at least a portion of leg 220 a is positionedwithin recess 122 a of jaw member 120 a and such that at least a portionof leg 220 b is positioned within recess 122 b of jaw member 120 b.Thus, legs 220 a and 220 b of clip “C,” similar to jaws 120 a and 120 b,are now also positioned surrounding tissue or vessel “V” to be clamped.

In this position, the raised profiles 226 a and 226 b protruding fromlegs 220 a and 220 b, respectively, are positioned within grooves 124 aand 124 b of jaws 120 a and 120 b, respectively. This configurationensures proper alignment of legs 220 a and 220 b of clip “C” relative toone another and, in turn, clip “C” within jaws 120 a, 120 b,respectively. In other words, recesses 122 a and 122 b, in cooperationwith grooves 124 a and 124 b serve as a “track” to permit longitudinaltranslation of legs 220 a and 220 b of clip “C” therethrough, butsubstantially inhibit rotational, vertical and/or transverse movementand/or canting of legs 220 a and 220 b of clip “C” relative to oneanother, thereby helping to ensure proper alignment of clip “C” withinjaws 120.

At this point, legs 220 a and 220 b of clip “C” are positioned withinrecesses 122 a, 122 b, with raised profiles 226 a and 226 b positionedwithin grooves 124 a, 124 b of jaws 120 a, 120 b, respectively. As shownin FIGS. 7-9, clip “C” initially defines an unformed configuration inwhich legs 220 a and 220 b are spaced apart relative to one another. Astrigger 108 is squeezed further, jaws 120 a and 120 b are moved from theopen position toward the approximated position, thereby beginning toform surgical clip “C” interposed therebetween. As seen in FIG. 10,surgical clip “C” may be formed or crimped onto a vessel “V” or anyother biological tissue. During formation of clip “C,” the flat,inwardly facing surfaces 222 a and 222 b of legs 220 a and 220 b, areapproximated toward each other to thereby effect clamping of vessel “V.”Alternatively, inwardly facing surfaces 222 a, 222 b may include one ormore features to promote a secure and effective clamp about tissue orvessel “V.”

During formation of clip “C,” the complementary shaped raised profiles226 a and 226 b of legs 220 a and 220 b of clip “C” are retained withingrooves 124 a and 124 b of jaws 10 a, 120 b and, more specifically, legs220 a and 220 b of clip “C” are retained with recesses 122 a and 122 bof jaws 120 a, 120 b, such that rotational, vertical and/or transversemovement of clip “C” relative to jaw assembly 120 is substantiallyinhibited. Accordingly, as jaws 120 a and 120 b are moved together toform clip “C,” legs 220 a and 220 b are similarly brought together, in asubstantially aligned co-planar orientation, to clamp about vessel “V.”In other words, the recesses 122 and grooves 124 of the jaws 120 a, 120b and corresponding configuration of clip “C”, including raised profiles226 thereof, reduce incidents and/or prevent scissoring of legs 220 aand 220 during formation of clip “C.” Increasing incidents of properalignment of legs 220 a and 220 b helps in the proper formation of clips“C.”

Once clip “C” has been clamped about vessel “V,” as shown in FIG. 10,trigger 108 may be released, allowing jaw assembly 120 to return back tothe spaced apart position. The above-described operation of surgicalclip applier 100 may then be repeated for subsequent clamping of clips“C” about tissue.

In accordance with the present disclosure, in an embodiment, byproviding grooves 124 a, 124 b in the jaws that interact and cooperatewith raised profiles 226 c of the clips, the width “w” of recesses 122 aand 122 b may be sufficiently large, relative to a maximum width of thelegs of the clip, to accommodate variations in manufacturing toleranceswith respect to a width dimension of the legs of the clips, with respectto a linearity of the legs of the clips, with respect to a widthdimension of the recesses of the jaws, and with regard to a linearity ofthe recesses of the jaws.

It should be understood that the foregoing description is onlyillustrative of the present disclosure. Various alternatives andmodifications can be devised by those skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the disclosure. Accordingly, the present disclosure isintended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variances.The embodiments described with reference to the attached drawing figuresare presented only to demonstrate certain examples of the disclosure.Other elements, steps, methods and techniques that are insubstantiallydifferent from those described above and/or in the appended claims arealso intended to be within the scope of the disclosure.

1. An apparatus for application of surgical clips to body tissue, theapparatus comprising: a handle assembly having a handle and a triggermoveable with respect to the handle; an elongated shaft extendingdistally from the handle assembly, the elongated shaft including atleast one surgical clip disposed therein, each surgical clip including apair of legs connected to each other at one end by a crossbar, each ofthe pair of legs having an inwardly facing surface and an outwardlyfacing surface, the outwardly facing surface having a raised profileprotruding therefrom and extending longitudinally therealong; and a jawassembly disposed at a distal end of the elongated shaft, the jawassembly including first and second opposed jaws moveable between aspaced apart position and an approximated position, each of the jawsdefining a recess extending longitudinally along opposing inner surfacesthereof, each of the recesses defining a longitudinally extending groovehaving a profile substantially complementary to the raised profile ofthe legs of the at least one surgical clip; wherein the legs of each ofthe surgical clips is positionable at least partially within respectivegrooves of the recesses of the jaws.
 2. The apparatus according to claim1, wherein the outwardly facing surfaces of the legs of each surgicalclip have a substantially triangular transverse cross-sectional profile.3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the groove defined ineach recess of the jaws has a substantially triangular transversecross-sectional profile.
 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, whereineach leg of each surgical clip has a chevron transverse cross-sectionalprofile.
 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each groove ofeach jaw is defined by a first wall and a second wall angled toward eachother and defining an angle therebetween.
 6. The apparatus according toclaim 5, wherein the outwardly facing surface of each leg of eachsurgical clip is defined by a first wall and a second wall angled towardeach other and defining an angle therebetween.
 7. The apparatusaccording to claim 6, wherein the angle defined by the first wall andthe second wall of the outer surface of each leg of each surgical clipis smaller than the angle defined by the first wall and the second wallof the groove of the jaws.
 8. The apparatus according to claim 1,wherein a shoulder is defined at an interface between the recess and thegroove of each jaw at opposed sides of the groove.
 9. The apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the crossbar of each surgical clip has achevron shaped transverse cross-sectional profile.
 10. A jaw assemblyfor use in a surgical clip applier configured to apply surgical clips tobody tissue, wherein each surgical clip includes a pair of opposed legseach having an outwardly projecting longitudinally extending raisedprofile, the jaw assembly comprising: first and second opposed jawsmoveable between a spaced apart position and an approximated position,each of the jaws defining a recess extending longitudinally alongopposing inner surfaces thereof, each of the recesses defining alongitudinally extending groove, each of the jaws configured forpositioning of a leg of a surgical clip at least partially within therecess of the jaw and for receiving the raised protrusion of each leg ofthe surgical clip in a groove of a respective jaw.
 11. The jaw assemblyaccording to claim 10, wherein a shoulder is defined at an interfacebetween the recess and the groove of each jaw at opposite sides of thegroove.
 12. The jaw assembly according to claim 10, wherein the groovedefined in the recess of each jaw has one of a substantially triangulartransverse cross-sectional profile and a chevron transversecross-sectional profile.
 13. An apparatus for application of surgicalclips to body tissue, the apparatus comprising: a handle assembly havinga handle and a trigger moveable with respect to the handle; an elongatedshaft extending distally from the handle assembly, the elongated shaftincluding at least one surgical clip disposed therein, each surgicalclip including a pair of legs connected to each other at one end by acrossbar, each of the pair of legs having an inwardly facing surface andan outwardly facing surface, the outwardly facing surface including aplurality of spaced-apart protrusions formed thereon, each protrusiondefining a raised profile protruding from the outwardly facing surfaceof the leg; and a jaw assembly disposed at a distal end of the elongatedshaft, the jaw assembly including first and second opposed jaws moveablebetween a spaced apart position and an approximated position, each ofthe jaws defining a recess extending longitudinally along opposing innersurfaces thereof, each of the recesses defining a longitudinallyextending groove having a profile substantially complementary to theraised profile of the protrusions of the legs of the at least onesurgical clip; wherein the legs of each of the surgical clips ispositionable at least partially within respective grooves of therecesses of the jaws.
 14. The apparatus according to claim 13, whereinthe protrusions each have a substantially triangular transversecross-sectional profile.
 15. The apparatus according to claim 13,wherein the groove defined in each recess of the jaws has asubstantially triangular transverse cross-sectional profile.
 16. Theapparatus according to claim 13, wherein each protrusion has a chevrontransverse cross-sectional profile.
 17. The apparatus according to claim13, wherein each groove of each jaw is defined by a first wall and asecond wall angled toward each other and defining an angle therebetween.18. The apparatus according to claim 17, wherein each protrusion isdefined by a first wall and a second wall angled toward each other anddefining an angle therebetween.
 19. The apparatus according to claim 18,wherein the angle defined by the first wall and the second wall of eachprotrusion is smaller than the angle defined by the first wall and thesecond wall of the groove of the jaws.
 20. The apparatus according toclaim 13, wherein a shoulder is defined at an interface between therecess and the groove of each jaw at opposed sides of the groove.